Guest Contributor. It is no secret that a well located, reasonably priced real estate investment can effectively generate more revenue than the cost of the money rentng to finance it. Make money from renting who have held on to single family homes in good areas for 10 years or more have built up substantial amounts of equity, and a frlm of savings. The main way a rental property can make money is through cash flow. Simply put, this is the difference between the rent collected and all operating expenses. Is it really that simple?